By Evang. Joachim P. Erameh
Life is full of troubles. Job 14:1 says, “Man who is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Problems or challenges are part of life. God didn’t promise us a life completely devoid of problems or challenges. The Bible says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). There’s no one who can say they don’t have a problem or challenge in life. If you don’t know, even the rich cry. If you think you’re the only one with a problem in this life, try listening to other people’s stories.
But no matter what your problem or challenge may be, don’t be discouraged. The Bible tells us that David encouraged himself in the Lord. If you must overcome your problem or challenge, you have to encourage yourself. David went to war with his men, but before they came back, the Amalekites invaded the south of Ziklag and took away everything they had. David’s men were angry with him and thought of stoning him, but he encouraged himself in the Lord. David pursued the Amalekites and recovered all that they took, and brought back booty to share with the people with him. You can read the full account of this story in 1 Samuel 30:1-19.
Beloved, the first step to overcoming your problem or challenge is to encourage yourself in the Lord. This is how you can draw strength to continue to fight and overcome. Some people today, instead of encouraging themselves, have allowed discouragement to take hold of them. In the face of what appeared to be a hopeless situation, David encouraged himself and overcame in the end.
The time of trouble is a time to be prayerful, not downcast—to seek help from God. This was exactly what David did when he was in trouble. The Bible says he inquired of the Lord whether he should pursue the Amalekites, and the Lord said, “Pursue, and you shall surely overtake and recover all.”
There’s no trouble that lasts forever. Every problem or challenge has an expiry date if we don’t let them overwhelm us. Dear reader, I may not know what you’re going through right now, but I know that like David, you will surely overcome. Don’t give up: keep praying and believing God to help you. You will be victorious in the end, in Jesus’ name. I pray that the Lord God Almighty will help you overcome every problem or challenge in your life in Jesus’ name.